[trilliumB]

Hey folks!

I just wanted to make myself available as a resource!

I have life-threatening food allergies, which normally makes dining out quite dangerous. However, I found the chefs and servers at WDW to be incredibly kind and helpful (as usual!) and blessedly aware of how to safely prepare food for peeps like myself. I was able to make a week-long trip to WDW, eating out the whole time, with minimal hassle or worry. How great!

Please let me know if I can help or answer any questions!

--CAT :p

[trilliumB]

When you call to make a PS, definitely let them know that you have food allergies; they will add a note to the PS, which apparently pops up at the restaurant when they look at their PSs in the computer.

Remind them to add the note to each PS as you make it, since it has to be done manually each time, even if you're making a bunch of PSs at once.

This seemed to be working at least some of the time; occasionally it was mentioned by the staff when I checked in, before we'd had a chance to mention it. It's always good to have one more heads-up to the staff, and it helped to break the ice on the "I'll need to speak to the chef about what will be safe for me to order" routine.

--CAT :p

[trilliumB]

WDW restaurants have definitely developed a low-impact routine for helping guests with food allergies.

When we checked in, we'd tell the folks at the desk that I had food allergies, and that I'd like to speak to the chef to find out what would be safe for me to order/eat. This request was NEVER met with surprise or hassle; I was told repeatedly that they deal with food allergies ALL the time. The host/ess would then make a note about what specifically I'm allergic to, and send that back to the chef. We'd then be seated, and in a few minutes out would come the chef.

The same thing happened when we told our server (rather than the host/ess), but we found that usually it felt more private and relaxed to take care of notifying folks via the host/ess.

After you notified the host/ess or server, the chef will come out to your table, go over what you're allergic to, and then either tell you what to avoid or what's safe on the menu, or they will invite you to walk the buffet line with them from end to end, as they tell you whether each dish is safe, or not.

I ate all over the World, and the chefs were always incredibly nice and helpful. When we ate at Boma, Chef TJ was SUCH a sweetie, and even made us a special dish himself, just for us, which was both beautiful and delicious!

I started out with PSs for EVERYTHING, thinking that it would be such a hassle and problem for the restaurants. This idea was further encouraged by the PS people, who said I needed to call each restaurant individually 24 hours ahead of each PS and speak to the chef. This just resulted in playing phone tag, however, with the rather confused reply always being, 'sure, that's no problem, I'll help you when you get here'. At least for nut allergies like I have, the WDW restaurants seem to have such a good system set up to take care of guests, the interaction on-site with the chef was all that was necessary, or expected. We even ate several times without PSs, and it really was just not a problem.

I'd be interested to know how people with other food allergies than nuts have fared. But at least this is good news for those of us with nut allergies: Disney "gets" it! :laugh

[dznygrl]

This is really good to know!
I was not allergic to any foods on our last trip, but over the past year I've developed a couple of allergies. Not life-threatening, but enough to make me violently ill...which is not exactly the way I want to spend a vacation!
And considering wheat and tomatoes are quite common...I'm going to have to be very careful on this trip!!

[DougiesMommy]

My 20 month old son is allergic to nuts as well. I was very curious as to how to handle the situation upon our next visit in Dec and found your post very helpful.

I was most worried about the buffets and very glad to hear the chef will walk you through and let you know what is or isn't safe.

So offhand I guess they don't typically use peanut oil to cook with? But more being on the lookout for foods that have nuts in them?

[trilliumB]

dznygrl,

Originally posted by dznygrl
...over the past year I've developed a couple of allergies. Not life-threatening, but enough to make me violently ill...which is not exactly the way I want to spend a vacation!
And considering wheat and tomatoes are quite common...I'm going to have to be very careful on this trip!!

This is a great example of why it is so important to speak with the chef directly, rather than waitstaff or others. The chefs know about the actual ingredients used in each dish, many of which are "hidden" by the time the dish reaches the dining room. Flour used to thicken a sauce, for example, is known to the cook, but invisible to the server (as you well know, I'm sure!).

Again, I found it so reassuring that no one rolled their eyes or acted in any way except with careful attention and respect. I was repeatedly told that food allergies are something they deal with constantly. So don't be afraid to speak up! It could save your life.

BTW, do you carry an Epi-pen with you at all times? Food allergies are unpredictable (and can become worse over time), and it's important to know that if you already have one that is making you violently ill, you are at risk of anaphylactic shock, which is fatal without an injection of adrenaline within a few minutes. I had moderate allergic reactions to nuts for years, and I just saw it as unpleasant, not knowing the danger. Then one evening last fall, I ate some ice cream with nuts in it (like I'd done plenty of times before, with results that I could put up with), and suddenly went into anaphylactic shock. We thank our lucky stars that I was at home, and that my husband was there to call 911. We are avid kayakers, and could easily have been on the river, eating gorp...I probably would have died.

Best of luck to you, and eat safe!
Hugs,
--CAT

[trilliumB]

DougiesMommy,

I'm so glad I could help! It can be really scary dealing with food allergies; I'm glad I could help a bit.

A further note on the buffets:
At the Crystal Palace, there were two "wings" of the buffet area, each meant to serve one half of the restaurant. They were mirror images of each other, except for one vital difference: only one had peanut butter on it; the other was kept clear of it. I thought this was a great way to deal with the problem of drops of peanut butter landing in nearby dishes, or on the counters, etc.

As for peanut oil:
I was told by the Priority Seating (PS) people in January of 2003 that WDW had stopped using peanut oil in nearly all of their restaurants, due to concerns over food allergies. They warned that a few places at Epcot still might be using it, namely the Nine Dragons Restaurant in China, and the Mitsukoshi Teppan Yaki Dining Room in Japan (using sesame oil). I was told by one chef that they thought that the Nine Dragons had stopped using it too.

If you get an update on the use of peanut oil at WDW, would you post it here? Thanks!

A note: The PS people only have information about WDW-owned restaurants; other restaurants like Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe, and the Downtown Disney restaurants, for example, need to be queried directly.

Best of luck!
Smilies to you and yours!
--CAT

[goofyguy1958]

Hey it feels good to know that I am not the only one who has to feel like a pain when going out to eat. I have some strange food allergies -- bell peppers, mushrooms, which I love, and some that we are not even sure cause the reactions --that run from giving me a couple of hives to full-fledged life-threatening anaphylaxis. I have to carry an Epi pen where ever I go. The last time I was in WDW, my DW, DD, DS and I had PS in Cinderella's castle. I asked our server if there were any Bell Peppers in the food and she said she would check. About two minutes later the Head Chef came out and sat at our table and takled with me about my concerns. My DD (4 at the time) said that I must be very important for the guy with the big hat to come and sit with us. I was so impressed by this that I went to the Guest Services office and submitted a report and requested the staff be rewarded for their genuine concern and attention to detail. :)

[goofyguy1958]

Hey it feels good to know that I am not the only one who has to feel like a pain when going out to eat. I have some strange food allergies -- bell peppers, mushrooms, which I love, and some that we are not even sure cause the reactions --that run from giving me a couple of hives to full-fledged life-threatening anaphylaxis. I have to carry an Epi pen where ever I go. The last time I was in WDW, my DW, DD, DS and I had PS in Cinderella's castle. I asked our server if there were any Bell Peppers in the food and she said she would check. About two minutes later the Head Chef came out and sat at our table and takled with me about my concerns. My DD (4 at the time) said that I must be very important for the guy with the big hat to come and sit with us. I was so impressed by this that I went to the Guest Services office and submitted a report and requested the staff be rewarded for their genuine concern and attention to detail. :)

[disneymaverick]

wow i am impressed. i dont have food allergies but younever know when they will pop up
It was nice to hear all of you with those allergies are so well taken care of. I am so happy to hear this info you just dont know
we live near detroit and when you ask a waiter or waitress around here for any info on their food or ask to speak to the cheff i know they would just bite your head off. I dont eat meat and some things are made with meat and you dont know it. I just love disney this post is just another reason to love it more!!!
thanks for sharing

[trilliumB]

goofyguy1958,

Thanks so much for sharing your fantastic experience! (I love the part about your DD and the "guy with the big hat"!) I agree, disneymaverick, that kind of story really does make you love WDW even more (if that's possible!). Other restaurants could sure learn a few things from Disney (OK, how about the entire service industry!).

I've also felt like such a pain in the tuckus at non-Disney restaurants (plus it feels so dangerous), we pretty much never go. I did just try again, and employed some techniques I'd refined :p at the Dis --specifically, I talked to the hostess when we checked in, and just said (after friendly hellos), "I've got some really terrible food allergies, so I need to talk with someone who knows about all the ingredients in each dish." The instant response was: "Sure. I'll have my manager come talk to you while you're waiting for your table." I think bringing up the 'ingredients' really helped avoid a response like 'your server will help you'.

Plus, all this got taken care of before we were seated, so the server was not involved; I'm becoming increasingly convinced that the server may well be the person who is least likely to be helpful with your allergies at a restaurant. I think from the server's point of view, there are a couple of issues that are going to make them more stressed about your requests, and less inclined to fulfill them. One is just having their table ask to speak to the manager-- normally, the server goes for the manager only after they have failed at solving a customer problem, so the server will probably try hard to 'solve' your problem themselves, and may see you as being unreasonable when you continue to ask for a manager/chef after they've already sworn up and down that there are absolutely no {whatever} in any of the food. They may interpret this as you getting them in trouble. The other is that while you wait for the manager/chef, they can't take your order for much longer than usual, and that also makes them look bad, and they worry about you getting hungry, tipping less, complaining more, etc.

Luckily, at WDW, restaurant staff seemed overall very well educated as to how to handle food allergies, but outside... It just makes me want to go back even more!

Best of luck, and safe eating!
--CAT